One Week in Heaven
by Marika Anderson
Summary: After Mia's mother and new father, Mr. G. get married, they leave her at Lilly's for a week while the couple is on their honeymoon. Will Mia and Michael end up together?
1. The Rush to Get Ready

Disclaimer: I don't own the Princess Diaries, or any of the characters mention... although I do take credit for the hobo... :-)

At the sound of a loud knock on his door, Michael Moscovitz awoke with a start. "Alright butthead, you have 3 seconds to get your lazy butt out of bed and open this door or else I will have to resort to drastic measures!" An angered voice threatening his well being brought him back to Earth with a start. Hurrying, he threw on a shirt and quickly opened the door to see a very frustrated Lilly standing outside.

"Hey Lil, what's with the friendly morning wakeup call this time?"

"Can it smart one, the wedding is due to start in 30 minutes and you're still in pj's!" Michael looked down to see an old concert tee and his favorite Peanuts boxers.

"Point taken" was all he could get out before slamming the door in her face. She could be so difficult sometimes. He rushed about his room in preparation, throwing open his closet and pulling out his old suit, still in the plastic wrap from the cleaners. Cursing, he tried to undo the knots they had placed upon the package, to no avail. At the sound of Lilly's voice starting up once more he decided it was a time for drastic measures himself, and grabbed a pair of scissors off his cluttered desk.

"Gotcha now," he muttered as the metal sliced cleanly through the plastic, and to his horror, the suit! "DAMNIT!" he yelled, bringing the worried Drs. Moscovitz screeching to a halt in front of his bedroom door. Why did this stuff always have to happen to him?

"Is there a problem in there?" His father called out to him. "We have 20 minutes to be in the church!"

Pulling on his sports coat, he gave a resounding "No!" and seconds later, he was closing the door to his messy bedroom. "Chill out guys, I'm ready!"

His mother raised an eyebrow at the sight of his tousled hair, messily tied tie, small cut in jacket, and shoes still in hand. Michael looked down once more, and a faint tinge of pink collected in his cheeks, inwardly thanking God that they couldn't see his thoughts. Then they would of course know that the only reason he was excited about the marriage of Helen Thermopolis and Frank Gianini was so he could see Mia.

Mia. The name itself launched him into a series of fantasies, all involving the two of them alone at what he thought of to be very romantic places: the video arcade, Mario's pizza down the street, and the bowling alley. Shrugging aside a daydream of him pulling a string of pizza cheese off Mia's lip, he hastily pulled on his shoes and followed his family out the door.

The Moscovitzes, all in their Sunday best, hopped on the subway to the church where the marriage was to take place, the female Dr. doing a bit of what she called "damage control" on her son. He tried to squirm away as she straightened his tie, combed his hair with some sort of cream magically procured from her oversized handbag, and used saliva to get rid of an invisible smudge on his left cheek. He groaned, wondering why on earth she had to be so motherly in front of his sister, and numerous other businessmen and hoboes, the latter looking like they needed much more help than he did.

As if reading his thoughts, his mother said, "We can't have you looking like a hobo in front of Helen, Frank, and Mia." The bedraggled man in the bucket seat next to them gave the smiling psychoanalyst what he obviously thought was an evil look, then resolutely stared straight ahead as the Drs. Moscovitz and family allowed themselves a chuckle. "There now," Michael's mother said, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Lilly smirked, her specialty, and announced that her baby brother could now be allowed out of his cage and into the real world. She was silenced by a look from her parents and just returned to her usual miffed look.

Michael groaned, wondering what he had done to deserve such a beast for a sister. He had always heard that he wasn't the most obedient as a child, but didn't think that whatever he had done could merit having to live with Lilly. About to begin his senior year at Albert Einstein High School in a little over a month, he looked forward to the day when he could move away from his psychotic family and into a dorm somewhere hopefully far away. Not too far though; he still wanted to see Mia. He lapsed into his daydreams once again, but was brought back to reality with the jerky stop of the subway train. Why did they always have to stop at the best parts!

In the dressing room at the church, Mia worked at fastening up the back of the custom-made wedding dress, Helen's own design. It was a gauzy, silky number with long sleeves, a lace-up bodice, and a long flowing skirt that seemed to perfectly accentuate the 40-something woman's best qualities. Despite her age, Helen Thermopolis had still managed to retain a youthful quality, which she told people came from her ability to express herself creatively through her art. Mia knew however that it was really the byproduct of a multitude of skin care products, namely Mary Kay cold cream. But who was she to give away her mother's beauty secrets? She finally finished hooking and zippering the back of the creamy dress then pulled back as her mother turned slowly around for a viewing of the final product.

"How do I look?" she asked with a slight smile.

It was all Mia could do to answer coherently. After only seeing her mother in artist smocks, men's button-down shirts, and jeans for years, only dressing up when absolutely necessary, Mia was floored at the difference that a real dress and some makeup did. "You look amazing, Mom," Mia said, giving her mother a hug.

For the past two years or so, her mother had been dating Frank, or Mr. G as she still referred to him as. After all, it was a bit hard thinking of your Algebra teacher as "Dad." He had proposed to her mother only 3 months earlier. Despite what Helen said about not wanting to be traditional, the wedding, all of her design, was turning out to be just that. White lilies adorned the New York City church, and a white horse and carriage waited to cart the new happy couple off to their new life.

Mia knew all this would be a huge change, but was willing to accept it for one slightly superficial reason: staying at Lilly's while mom and Mr. G. were honeymooning in Paris.

Lilly had been her best friend since the third grade, when she had stuck up for Mia from the school bully, Lana Weinberger, and the two had been nearly inseparable since. Mia spent much of her time at the Moscovitzes apartment anyways, but the thought of a whole week there was almost more than she could stand: 7 days of Michael Moscovitz, usually without a shirt!

Okay, so he was her best friend's older brother, which did put a damper on any possibly relationship they might have, but still! He was perfect for her! There was the little catch that she was just his sister's friend to him, but she was determined to change that within the course of the next week.


	2. Wedding Bells

Michael had to stifle a gasp walking into the church. This was his first time in a church, being Jewish, so he really had no business there until now. But it most definitely wasn't what he had expected, especially for a wedding planned by the artistic Helen Thermopolis. He had honestly expected the décor to be something bright, with a random theme like Campbell's soup or something. Lysol perhaps, but definitely not white lilies, silk ribbons, and elaborate flower pieces on either side of the altar. The pews were already quite full of chatting people who seemed to all know each other. Looking around, Michael could see the Crown Prince Philippe, along with the infamous Grandmere, well known to him through Mia's all-too-common rants about her princess lessons. He smiled at the thought of her, and tried to imagine where she was at that moment and where she would be sitting.

A stately looking usher led them to the front row on the left side of the altar, right next to where Michael thought Mia would surely be sitting. The Moscovitzes sat down on the wooden benches, and Michael could sense his parents' unhappiness with being placed so close to the crucifix. They were obviously determined to enjoy themselves, and began noting the beauty of the stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings, and the ambiance in general.

A few minutes later, a very frazzled looking Mia seemed to appear out of nowhere and slid into the seat next to him. She absentmindedly started checking things off on her fingers, her eyes nervously darting around as if just now noting the multitudes of people that sat anxiously awaiting the start of the ceremony.

"Hey Thermopolis," Michael said, causing a faint blush to creep across her cheeks. He observed that she looked great in her baby blue, tight fitting gown.

"Hey." Mia smiled at him, and was pleased to note that he most definitely returned the gesture. Or maybe he was just in a good mood or something.

"You need to take a deep breath; you look way tense." Michael noted that her shoulders were really stiff, and she seemed to be sitting as though on something delicate. How he wanted so bad to just sit there and massage all the knots out of those creamy shoulders! Mia smiled once more, and inhaled deeply, causing her posture to be slightly more relaxed. "That's better," he said.

"It's just that with all the planning, you know my mom's absentmindedness, I didn't want her to forget anything. I mean, wouldn't it be awful if something big was left out, like a reception, or those little bottles of bubbles you blow at the newlyweds? And I mean, even though it is my mom and my algebra teacher, ya know, I really wanted everything to be special, so-" Mia's rambling was silenced as Michael placed his hand on her shoulder. He was touching her! Surely he didn't mean it though, there's no way someone like Michael could like her: the geeky princess Mia Thermopolis.

Michael couldn't believe his nerve! He had just put his arm on Mia's shoulder, but she only seemed to tense up more with it. Quickly he withdrew it, and trying to save the situation, pointed to a spot directly behind her left shoulder. "Who's that over there?" he asked, fully knowing that it was her grandmother.

Mia wrinkled her nose. "That's Grandmere," she said. "The one I told you about. The EVIL one." With this she gave a tiny, involuntary shudder.

"That bad huh?"

"Oh yeah. She's not too happy with the marriage, but then again, that's to be expected. Just because Mom wouldn't let her and her little groupies plan it, she's been walking around like she sat on a porcupine," Mia explained.

"That explains that sour look on her face too I guess."

"No that's just her usual expression!" The two laughed, as those who share a private joke do. The noise alerted Lilly to their presence, who was sitting to the left of Michael and his parents, and so was hidden from view.

"Mia! It's you!" Lilly exclaimed.

Mia was a bit disappointed at the intrusion, even from her best friend. She had thought she was doing quite well with Michael, minimum embarrassment for once, ruling out her little ramble earlier. "Hey Lil," was all she managed to get out.

"Wow the church looks great! And I can't wait to see the dress! This is so exciting!" Mr. Gianini, who had just nervously walked out in a black tuxedo, with beige under jacket, was now standing, fidgeting on the altar. Moments later, the organist struck up the beginning measures of "Here Comes The Bride," and the back doors were thrown open. Two rays of sunlight further accentuated the long aisle to the altar.

The crowd let out an audible gasp as Helen began to walk slowly downs the aisle, alone. She had insisted on this, saying that she had walked alone most of her life, so it would be fitting. Plus, her grandfather had died before Mia was born, and there wasn't anyone needed to give her away. She looked, in a word, radiant; with an expression Mia doubted had been seen on her face before. It was a calm look, yet full of excitement at the same time. The dress fit her like a glove, the gauzy train slowly dragging behind. Mr. G's fears all seemed to have melted away at first sight of his bride, and he was now looking her straight in the eye, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth. It was obvious to all, even to Grandmere, that the two were very much in love.

Mia sighed and began to relax. Who knew that her mother could look so beautiful? She was pretty sure it would be smooth sailing from here on out. She leaned back into the pew's hard wooden back, and put her hand on the seat. It landed right on top of Michael's. She hurriedly pulled away, but not before he had turned and given her a quick look, then smiled. It was almost as if he liked the feel of her warm, soft hand on his. She shrugged as if to expel the thoughts from her mind, and tried to concentrate on the ceremony, but it was hard, knowing that the love of her life was sitting right beside her.

The preacher seemed to drone on forever, and the audience began to get a bit fidgety. Finally, it was time for the vows. "Do you, Frank Gianini, take Helen Thermopolis, to be your lawfully-wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness or in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"And do you, Helen Thermopolis, take Frank Gianini to be your lawfully-wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness or in health, till death do you part?"

"I do," she said, her eyes glistening. Even Mr. G's looked a little teary.

"Then you may kiss the bride!" the preacher announced jovially.

Mr. G. let out loud "Amen!" then pulled Helen in for a long, passionate kiss, the crowd ooh-ing and ah-ing. They broke apart and the preacher then said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gianini!"

Everyone burst into applause as the two began to walk down the aisle, arm in arm. Outside the flagstone steps, a white horse and buggy waited, with a sign on the back of the rig saying "Just Married."

Mia and the Moscovitzes stood up and stretched. "We have a limo to take us to the Plaza for the reception," Mia said. Michael grinned. He would get to ride with Mia!


	3. Kiss and Tell

Disclaimer: I only own the bellhop... that's all folks. Thanks to everyone who reviewed by the way! I really appreciate it, and if you are reading this, please review for each chapter so that I can get a better grade :)

Michael's entire ride to the Plaza Hotel was spent staring at Mia. It was impossible to believe that his whole mind could be focused on a single being for this long, given his hormonal teenage nature. Especially since that person was his little sister's best friend. Again and again his mind conjured up romantic images of him and her together. He wondered at how much easier it was to picture kissing her with her so close to him. Maybe it was seeing her high cheekbones, clear, creamy skin, and deep blue-grey eyes...

Mia could feel the weight of Michael's stare fixed upon her. 'Maybe I have something on my face,' she thought to herself. She ran her hand across her face but felt nothing. She patted down her updo as well, but when he continued to look, she shot him a quizzical glance. He seemed to snap back into consciousness, and sheepishly looked away. Was that a blush creeping across his face or was she just imagining things? She decided it must be the latter. Or maybe it was the heat. Come to think of it, she was feeling a bit overheated herself. "Hey Lars, " she called out to the burlesque Norwegian man driving the limousine. "Can you turn up the air conditioning or something? We're burning up back here!"

"No need, Princess. We have arrived." Sure enough, the car had just pulled up to the covered parking circle of the Plaza Hotel, where another half dozen or so yellow taxis were also unloading passengers from the wedding. A young, neatly uniformed bellhop in a maroon suit opened the door and helped everyone out of the car. When it was Mia's turn, he helped her to slide out, then kissed her hand and winked. Her eyes grew wide, as did Michael's. Lilly cocked an eyebrow as if to question why she hadn't received the same treatment while the Drs. Moscovitz laughed nervously.

"What are you playing at!" Michael nearly bowled over the surprised bellhop once he regained his composure. No one had any right to horn in on his action! Well, she wasn't exactly his yet, but he was determined to do something about that, once he had worked up enough nerve to make a move anyways. He grabbed Mia's shoulders and steered her in the direction of the revolving doors leading to the ornate lobby. "What a jerk," he muttered out loud. The rest of the family followed quietly, well aware that everyone in the carport was now openly staring at them.

"Well that was... interesting," Mia finally managed once they were safely inside the Belcourt Room, where twenty or so round tables were flanked by a full-service bar and a buffet table heaped with a variety of dishes. She was grateful that her Grandmére had arrived before her, and didn't see the whole scene outside. She probably would have had an aneurism or sorts and gotten the poor guy fired. Not that any of that was rude or uncalled for, but the press would have a field day and that would be way too much of a hassle.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Michael replied, "Yeah, I can't believe he had the nerve to do something like..." His sentence trailed off as the both of them realized that Michael still had his arm around her. "... Like that," he finished lamely, removing his arm from her shoulder for the second time that morning.

Mia frowned. "What do you mean by that?" Was he implying that she wasn't worthy to be kissed by random strangers? I mean, she knew that no one in his right mind would want to kiss her, but it wasn't very nice of him to remind her about it!

Almost as if reading her mind, Michael hastily said, "I know why he'd want to, but it was a bit, well, forward, of him." He struggled to find the right words but was luckily saved as Lilly came over, telling them to take a seat since the newlyweds would be there soon. Sometimes even that little devil deserved a reward: she could have some great timing!

As the trio walked to their table, Mia pondered what exactly Michael had meant by "I know why he'd want to." It almost sounded as if he may like her a bit. As if he wanted to kiss her! But she shouldn't kid herself, she thought. It was impossible. Just then, Mom and Mr. G came through the doors, holding hands. The crowd in the room let out a loud cheer. It was pre-decided that the carriage would arrive a half-hour after everyone else, so that "all the guests would have time to get there." Mia strongly suspected the extra loop through and around Central Park was used for other purposes, but tried not to think just how far one could go in a horse-drawn carriage. Not to mention how many innocent pairs of eyes could have been deflowered by her mom and new father. She was distracted, however, by the end of a quick speech ending in two of her favorite words: "Dig in!" A rumble in her stomach reminded her that it was nearly one o'clock by now. She had been too nervous that morning to fully indulge in her Frosted Flakes, so the smells wafting from the food tables thoroughly excited her. She followed the Moscovitzes to the growing line of hungry people, happy at her previous insistence on vegetarian fare. Sure enough, some of her meatless favorites dominated the table, along with chicken, beef, and seafood. Passing over what looked like pork chops, she piled her plate with macaroni and cheese and grilled vegetables.

"Hungry, Princess?" Michael, who was standing right behind her, grinned. "Because I don't think you have quite enough food on that plate of yours."

His pointed stare at her heaping plate of food caused her to look down. Any more added would probably cause a massive overflow. "Well they bought these plates way too small," Mia exclaimed, indignant.

Michael laughed. "That's what you get for picking up a SALAD plate, Thermopolis." He showed her his own plate, which was nearly twice the size of hers. "But then again, you are a vegetarian and all!"

Mia tried hard not to melt as Michael's smile bored straight into her heart. What was it about that face that attracted her so? She watched as he trotted to the start of the line, grabbed a regular size plate, and came back. He expertly tipped the overflow of food from the salad plate onto the new one, and handed it to her with a flourish. "Voila," he said, smiling. "Fit for a princess!"

Mia giggled. "Merci beaucoup!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, lets not start Frenching here in front of these poor people!" He winked and began to head back to their table, making Mia temporarily unable to walk; however, she soon gained her composure and followed him.

"Why are you so happy?" demanded a fuming Lilly back at the table. She had obviously not gotten over the little kiss thing earlier. Mia, on the other hand, had pretty much forgotten about the whole thing: she was a bit busy with Michael. Not as busy as she'd like to be with him, mind you, but she figured it was a start.

Mia sat down and began shoveling food in her mouth. "Why do you think!" She was greeted with a stare and decided to clarify. "I'm happy because I now have real food in my system!"

"Yeah, that's definitely it," Lilly said, still looking a bit miffed. "So when are you gonna give your speech?"

"Ugh," Mia groaned. The speech. She had almost forgotten about that. So nice of Lilly to remind her before her food had been properly digested. The mere thought of talking about her mom and Mr. G in front of 200 people was almost more than she could stand, but she figured there was no way out. Especially since she was supposed to give it while people were eating. She looked at her mother at the next table over. Sure enough, she was looking at her, expectantly. Nervously, Mia pushed back her chair and stood up. "Um, excuse me," she said. The room continued to be full of chatter.

"Could I please have your attention for one moment?" A loud voice next to her had finally managed to quiet the crowd. Mia looked to see that Michael had stood up and was now speaking once more. "Our very own Princess Mia would like to say a few words on the subject at hand. So here she is!" Applause broke out and Mia strongly considered running out of the room, but didn't want to appear chicken in front of Michael.

"Hi everyone, um, Mom asked me to give a speech, so, well here I am." The words she had rehearsed countless times in front of her mirror at home seemed to be coming back to her! "At first, I was a bit mad about Mom and Mr. G's relationship. I kinda expected it not to last. I mean, he does teach math and all. But once I realized that I was, well, stuck with him, I began to think of all the possibilities. No longer paying for tutors. Getting that little extra help on quizzes..." She let the sentence trail as the crowd laughed. "I guess that old saying is true: there really is a silver lining in every cloud. So, Mom, don't get a divorce or my grades will slip even further! But anyways, good luck! Especially on that honeymoon..." Mia could hardly believe it! The room was filled with the sound of people clapping. For her! She had actually made a speech without freaking out too much or throwing up!

"Nice job Thermopolis, maybe there's hope for you yet," came the familiar voice from next to her.

Mia grinned, "Thanks Michael."

"And now its time to cut the cake," her mother announced to the guests, who clapped even louder. She and Mr. G fed each other cake, then passed out pieces to everyone else. "And I almost forgot something! Frank and I prepared a little surprise for everyone! All the males please move to the left, ladies to the right. If you are one of those people who refuses to attach a biased label to whatever parts they have, then stay in the middle." This was met by laughter, but everyone parted accordingly. Helen turned her back to the women and launched the bouquet over her shoulder. Amazingly enough it sailed right through the air and landed right in Mia's arms. She looked surprised, but giggled anyways.

"Like mother, like daughter," someone called out. "Hey! Not fair!" Another said.

Mr. G turned his back on the guys, who were looking nervous, and threw something into the air. It was caught by Michael, who held it up with a confused look on his face. It was a frilly, lacy garter.

Mia wondered what was going on. What would he do with a garter? Her question was answered when her mother said "Alright, it looks like we have the next happy couple right here! Michael, would you please be so kind as to slip the garter onto your sweetheart?"

Michael slowly walked over to Mia and knelt down in front of her. He smiled up at her and her heart began to race. Carefully, he slipped the garter over her heeled shoe and slightly up her leg, thinking to himself all the while what a lucky guy he was. He had always wanted to do this to her! And he had the whole week to show her just how much he liked it! Things were definitely picking up for him!


	4. Michael's Sacrifice

Lilly and Mia were in Lilly's room when the doorbell rang. "That's probably just Lars with my stuff," Mia said. "I'm gonna go get it. Be back in a second!" Lilly answered with an incoherent mumble, barely looking up from her Seventeen magazine article on how to kiss. The doorbell rang once more and Mia ran to get it, calling out "Hold on!" as she ran. She obviously wasn't fast enough, however; when she got there Lars was handing a large duffel bag and Queen Amidala pillow to Michael. The sight of him shirtless brought her to a screeching halt. "Ahh!" she screamed as her socks slid on the hall's hardwood floor. She crashed right into Michael, the force causing him to fall into the front door, which had luckily been closed a split second earlier. Mia's stuff dropped from his arms as he threw them out to catch himself. Mia landed right on top of him, her arms encircling his bare waist. She pulled away quickly and began apologizing profusely.

"Don't worry about it, Thermopolis," Michael said with that goofy grin of his, picking himself up and dusting himself off. Mia wished she could be touching his stomach again, which she noticed was very defined. "I'm always glad to save a life. Maybe I should join the Royal Guard or something!" He picked up her bags and made his way down the hall, Mia trailing behind. But instead of turning into Lilly's room, he kept going, finally opening the door to his own room and dumping her luggage on his unmade bed.

"Um, Michael," Mia nervously began.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Michael interrupted with another of those heart-melting smiles. "But don't think ill be schlepping your stuff around everywhere from now on, ya hear?"

Mia laughed and said, "No its not that, its just that I think you might have gone to the wrong room." As much as she wanted to stay in this room with its weight set, 'Technology is not for wimps' poster and full-sized Han Solo cutout, she figured the new sleeping arrangements wouldn't improve Lilly's mood.

"Oh yeah. Right. Wrong room." Unable to look her in the eye, Michael picked up her bags once more and carried them to Lilly's room, finally depositing Mia's stuff on the right bed. He needed to get a hold of himself. Talk about Freudian slips! If he weren't careful, Mia would guess how he felt about her.

The noise of the bag hitting the bed alerted Lilly to their presence. She looked up. "What took so long?" she demanded.

"Long story," Michael said, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. Mia giggled.

Lilly just stared at Michael and Mia for a second before finally realizing all the possibilities of what could have just happened between her best friend and her older brother. "Get out of my room, stop hitting on my friends, and for heaven's sake, put on a damned shirt!"

At the sight of his angered sister's face, he bowed comically and dashed out of the room, calling out "C'ya around, Thermopolis!"

"I can not stand that kid sometimes," Lilly muttered angrily. "He needs to learn his place and stop showing off!"

Mia sat down on the bed and began tossing her Queen Amidala pillow in the air and catching it. "It really doesn't bother me," she said, careful to avoid Lilly's eye.

At that remark, Lilly stopped filing her nails and gave Mia an odd look. "Do you have a crush on my brother!" She sounded utterly revolted at the thought.

Mia threw the pillow at her. "Of course not! Don't be stupid!" She wished that she could just fess up to Lilly about the whole thing, but figured that Lilly would only be in a worse mood. Like disown her, or make her sleep on the balcony or something. But at least if she was forced to sleep on the balcony, she would be right by Michael's balcony next door. She shook thoughts of him changing out of her mind. "Hey Lil," she said. "Pass me that Seventeen you just finished." It was thrown at her and the two passed back into their silence.

Michael ran over the bit of conversation he had just heard in his mind: His sister asking if Mia had a crush on him, and her reply of "Of course not! Don't be stupid." Mia didn't like him. She thought it was stupid to like him. He couldn't believe it. She had acted so "into him" today! At least he thought so anyways. Where had he gone wrong? She had laughed at his jokes, smiled back at him, seemed happy about the whole garter and boquet thing. Then again, whenever they touched, she quickly pulled away. And there was that whole kiss thing earlier. He just didn't know what to believe about her anymore! Why did girls have to be so complicated? Michael sighed and leaned back on his bed, picking up his acoustic guitar as he did so. Whenever something was bothering him, he wrote songs about Mia, but what if Mia was the thing that was bothering him? Strumming softly, he began to sing about her once more.

A single lock of hair

Falls across your face,

And it needs to be moved,

Because it blocks the space.

For allthat I can see

Is beautiful to me.

Princess of my heart,

Did you know that you

Tear me apart?

When things get bad I smile

And I think all the while

Of you, Princess of my heart.

The ocean in your eyes

Is deep and serene

It captures my mind

A deep bluish green

Why can't you see?

You're beautiful to me.

Princess of my heart,

Did you know that you

Tear me apart?

When things get bad I smile

And I think all the while

Of you, Princess of my heart.

Those two pinkish lips

Always so inviting

Iwant them to meet mine

It would be so exciting

Because then she would see

She's beautiful to me.

Princess of my heart,

Did you know that you

Tear me apart?

When things get bad I smile

And I think all the while

Of you, Princess of my heart.

Michael sighed once more, lost in his thoughts and daydreams. He wanted her so badly, he could almost feel the warmth of her touch, almost feel her lips on his, almost touch her skin and almost feel her eyes looking deep into his. He was in love. But, she did not love him and that made him want to do something drastic. So he did. Michael Moscovitz promised himself that he would not embarrass Mia or himself this week by making a move. He would flirt no more, hold his feelings inside from this time forward. As long as she was happy...


	5. Mia's Promise

The next three days were the epitome of mundane life at the Moscovitz house, minus one factor: Michael Moscovitz was nowhere to be found! Mia wondered how on earth it was that the one person she wanted to really see was M.I.A. And last time she checked, that was HER name, not anyone else's.

The Drs. Moscovitz said that he was just really busy lately whenever she found a good entrance to drop a hint, and when her questioning about him got to the point of drawing questions, she guessed that she had just better lay low for awhile. Maybe he would free up before she had to go home and something interesting would happen, but given her luck so far, Mia strongly doubted it. She had been hearing a lot about this karma idea, and supposed that maybe she had done something to merit a small chest and lack of love life. But she doubted it. Nothing she could have done would be that bad!

Mia walked into Lilly's room with a glass of ice water in her hand. "Here, Lil," she said. "The water you wanted. Now you have to tell me where Michael is!"

Lilly tipped her head back, downing the glass within seconds as Mia watched in awe. That girl sure had a big mouth. "Why do you want to know where my brother is all the time? It's a bit creepy!"

"Is not!" Mia exclaimed indignantly. This would be a great opportunity to finally lay her feelings out on the hypothetical table, but as she was still afraid of totally being bashed by her best friend, she decided to only tell a part of the truth. "I was just wondering!" she said, "It's just that he's gone all of a sudden!"

"I guess he finally took my advice," Lilly said with a shrug. "And he went out for pizza with this girl, Judith."

Mia didn't know what to react to first, so she decided to do things in order. "What do you mean, your advice!" The first question came out with an angry expression on the side. "Did you tell him to back off or something?"

Lilly gave her an odd look. "I only told him to stop prancing about without a shirt, but he's never taken me seriously before, so it has to be something else. Why does it matter?"

"Well maybe I like seeing him without a shirt!" Mia yelled angrily.

Silence ensued for a second as Lilly stared at Mia, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "Did you just say what I think you said? That you actually LIKE seeing my brother shirtless?"

Mia managed a laugh. Somehow she had to save the situation! "Of course not, you freak!" She threw a pillow at Lilly, beaning her on the side of her head. "I was only joking!"

Lilly gave her a sidelong glance. "Okay, whatever you say..." She let the sentence trail off for emphasis. "You've just been acting funny lately. You're PMS-ing, aren't you?"

Mia sighed, more out of relief than annoyance at the rudeness of the question. "Yeah," she replied. "You wouldn't happen to have a Midol by any chance, would ya?"

"Who doesn't?" Lilly said with a small laugh, grabbing a bottle off her desk and throwing it to Mia. "Go to the kitchen and get water. And get me another glass while you're up." She held out the glass to Mia, making it totally obvious that she wasn't even willing to get up to give her the glass, much less make the long and treacherous hike to the kitchen.

"What are you, an invalid?" Mia laughed. Lilly could be a pain sometimes, but she wasn't always that bad.

She made her way out into the long hallway and was almost in the kitchen when she heard the front door open and shut quietly. She turned around and found herself face to face with Michael. "Hey!" She exclaimed, probably a little too happy than she wanted to appear. "Long time, no see. Where have you been lately?"

Michael flushed. Despite his attempts to ward off his feelings for Mia, he was as intoxicated as ever by her face, maybe even more so after not seeing her for what seemed like so long. It had taken every ounce of willpower in his body not to watch her as she slept, so the only way to really stay out of her way during the day was to make himself unseen to the whole house. It was just easier that way, for everyone. That day had been spent with Judith Gershner, a fellow member of the Computer Club. She was a nice girl, and easy to talk to, but was nothing like Mia. "Um, I've been busy." Michael thought he at least owed it to Mia to talk to her. Just because they couldn't date didn't mean they couldn't retain some form of a friendship, did it?

Mia frowned. To her, that wasn't a suitable answer, but it was his prerogative. "Okay, I was just getting a glass of water, do you want one too?"

"No thanks," Michael said quickly, before any other answer could come out. He couldn't let her know that the only thing he wanted to do more than drink water with her was kiss her until both their lips hurt. "I gotta do something in my room."

"Oh." Mia was crestfallen, but tried not to let it show too much. "Well have fun with whatever you're doing."

"Yeah," Michael said, "I will." And then he left. Mia couldn't believe all the tension that had resulted from this one little minute-long conversation! Michael had basically rejected her almost innocent offer, and made it perfectly clear to her that he didn't want any part of her. She tried to analyze his every move as she refilled the two glasses from the sink, watching the tiny stream of cold water tumble down and twirl the cluster of ice cubes around, then finally gave up and walked slowly back into Lilly's room, noting how Michael's door was closed with his "Trespassers Beware" sign looking quite foreboding.

"Here ya go," Mia said sullenly, passing the glass to Lilly. "Sorry it took so long." Mia didn't offer any explanation as to why it took ten minutes to fill up the glasses, but Lilly, who had her head buried in the most recent National Geographic magazine, merely grunted in reply and took a swig from the tall glass of water. "I'm just gonna hang out on the balcony," Mia said.

"Mmhmm, sure." Lilly said, barely looking up. "Go ahead."

Mia walked across the cluttered room, opened the glass sliding door, and stepped out onto the balcony. She closed the door, immersing herself in the sights and sounds of New York City. Finally letting the massive sigh escape her body in a whoosh of air, she sat down on the grungy concrete floor and pulled her knees in towards her body. A single tear ran down her face, but as her ears became acclimated to the outside noises, she began to notice an unfamiliar sound. She strained her ears and heard that it was the sound of a guitar softly strumming. And it was coming from the room of Michael Moscovitz. She stood up and leaned over the edge of her balcony, her forearms resting gently on the railing of the balcony adjoining Michael's room. Listening, she was able to pick out Michael's mellow voice singing the final verse of a song he had obviously written himself.

"We hide our feelings

Like you hide your face

Behind that dark brown sheet of hair

Don't you know I love you?"

Mia listened as he struck the final chord of the song and let it die, a long resounding note. She withdrew back onto her own balcony, pushing a strand of hair from her eyes. Once more she sat down, but this time with a different expression upon her face. She recalled the words that she had just heard with wonder; to her, it sounded just like he was writing that song for her and her alone. She had dark brown hair, and even though it might not be considered a sheet, it definitely hid her face. And he could be hiding his feelings for her! Maybe that's why he had seemed so cold all of a sudden. Yes, that was it, she decided. He definitely liked her, but didn't want to show it. So it was up to her to make the first move. It was just a matter of building up courage...


	6. False Echoes

Mia slowly stood up, the words that she had just heard still in her mind. So he did like her. That meant she had to find a way to let him know that. Pushing aside a nagging feeling in her brain, she grabbed her half-empty glass of water off of the concrete balcony and slid open the glass door to find Lilly in almost the same position she had left in.

"Hey," Mia said softly.

Lilly looked up. "That was quick. What were you doing out there anyways?" she asked curiously. "I mean, there's nothing out there except that little alley, and I'm almost sure that that's nothing exciting."

"Yeah," Mia agreed, "I was just sort of thinking. I needed a bit of fresh air, I guess you could say."

She was still a bit numb from her new discovery, and it must have showed on her delicate face, for Lilly then said, "Is there something wrong? You look a bit pink."

"No-" Mia began, and then she stopped. "Well, actually, I'm sort of wondering. Could my hair be described as a 'dark brown sheet'?"

Lilly gave her an odd look. "No, not especially. A sheet of hair is straighter, isn't it? Yours is a bit too curly to be considered a sheet. Why do you ask?"

Mia took a deep breath. "Well," she said slowly, "I was sitting outside on the balcony, when I heard the strumming of a guitar."

"Yeah," Lilly said, "That was probably Michael practicing. Ever since we got his room soundproofed, the only way to hear him playing his music is through the glass of his balcony door. I guess he left it cracked open while you were out there, so you could hear him."

"I know," said Mia. "It's not that. It's just-" she stopped for another quick breath. Telling Lilly this was a lot harder than she had expected it to be. "I heard him playing a song, one that he wrote himself, and well, I think it was about me."

Silence took hold over the room for a moment, but was soon broken by Lilly's disbelieving voice. "What? About YOU?"

"Listen, I know it sounds weird, but it sounded so much like me!" Mia tried to make Lilly understand, "It was like about how 'we hide our feelings like you hide your face behind that dark brown sheet of hair,' or something." Mia blushed furiously.

Lilly raised an eyebrow. "You're blushing awfully hard here," she said suspiciously. "Was that all that was in the song?"

"No," Mia admitted.

"Well, then tell me!" Lilly said, in a somewhat exasperated tone of voice.

"Itsaiddon'tyouknowIloveyou," Mia took a deep breath, having just said all that quickly and in one breath, so as not to be understood.

Unfortunately, Lilly wasn't Lilly for nothing. "'Don't you know I love you'," she mused to herself. "That's interesting."

"What is?" asked Mia.

"Mia, don't worry. I don't think that song is about you."

"It's not!" Mia burst. "I just assumed it was!"

"No!" Lilly said, annoyed. "If it's anyone he actually knows, it's about Judith."

Memories of Lilly talking ten minutes earlier came rushing from the back of Mia's subconscious. _And he went out for pizza with this girl, Judith. _Judith! Mia had forgotten all about asking about her! "Who's Judith?" She asked angrily.

"Um, Judith Gershner, I think is her name," Lilly said loosely. "They're in the school's Computer Club together. She used to have this long dark brown hair that was always getting in her eyes, but then she just recently cut it all off to her chin or something. I guess that's where my pathetic brother got the sheet of hair thing. They've been spending a lot of time together recently, so I always just assumed that they were dating. The perfect nerd couple. I guess its a lot more then that, since he supposedly loves her now. What a sap." She shook her head and went back to National Geographic, not seeing the tears threatening to stream down Mia's face.

"Oh," Mia said, so softly that she was almost talking to herself. She turned her back to face the balcony once more as a single tear escaped the corner of her eye and slowly rolled down her left cheek.

"Listen," said Lilly, "My parents went out to dinner together tonight. They left thirty dollars on the kitchen table for us to get dinner. I was thinking we could pick up Chinese food from Number One Noodle Son, since that's your favorite and all."

"Whatever," said Mia sullenly, trying to hide the pain in her voice. What she needed was a chance to get away from the Moscovitz home, where she didn't have to look at Michael any more. She didn't want to like him. She really didn't. _Maybe _, she thought to herself, _I didn't really like him at all. I probably just liked the thought of having a boyfriend, and Michael was more convenient because he was Lilly's brother. Yes, that was it. I only liked the thought of him. _"Hey Lilly," she said, "How bout I go get the Chinese food? Me and Chin Lee go way back, ya know."

Lilly laughed. Chin Lee was the exceptionally large Oriental man who worked at Number One Noodle Son, and Mia was one of his favorite customers. "Okay," she agreed. "Maybe he'll give you extra fortune cookies again! Can you get me the Moo Goo Gai Pan? The money is on the kitchen table." Mia nodded and began to make her way out of the room, side stepping the piles of clothes and other things. "Oh yeah," Lilly continued, "And bang on Michael's door for me and find out what he wants."

At this, Mia paled. Michael. She had forgotten about him. "Sure," she said, not feeling very sure at all. She walked down the hall and stopped in front of his door. It was now or never. She needed to show him just what she thought of him. Knocking loudly on the door, she called out to him. "Michael! Open up!"

She faintly heard scrambling around from within the room, and seconds later the door was opened quickly. "Oh. Hey," Michael said, trying to sound nonchalant. He had just been hiding the evidence of his newest song about Mia, one of his better ones, he thought.

"Um yeah," Mia said, trying to sound as if she had wished this conversation was over before it began. "I'm going to get Chinese. What do you want?"

Michael pretended to think, while looking at her. She, on the other hand was twirling her hair and looking bored with the whole scenario. She so obviously didn't like him, and was trying to show it. _Well _, he thought, _two can play that game. _"Get me some fried rice," he said shortly. "And make it quick, I'm hungry." With that he gave a slight bow and shut the door in her face. He stood there staring at the door he had just slammed in the face of his only love, and then slowly walked over to his bed, allowing his muscles to completely give in. He collapsed on the bed, his heart aching. Not loving Mia was turning him into a demon.

Mia stared at the door. Lilly was right, there was no way that the song was about her. It just couldn't be especially after the way he had just treated her. For some reason, however, she couldn't hate him. Maybe it was because she was in love with him.


	7. Love Unheard Of

When Mia returned from fetching the Chinese food, she found Lilly in about the same position she had been when Mia had left. "Sure took ya long enough," Lilly commented, her nose still stuck in some article about Kenyan wildebeests or something. Mia didn't reply. She had actually put off the trip to the restaurant for a few minutes, choosing to amble down the streets of New York. For the first time in her life, she felt one with those hobos and their shopping carts, the ones who looked so sad all the time. She even gave one a dollar, something that she usually didn't bother with.

"Yeah. Well Chin Lee took a bit of time with the tofu tonight," Mia said in reference to the fact that Chin Lee knew exactly how she wanted her orders made. "Anyway, the food is on the kitchen table."

"Okay," said Lilly. "You go ahead and set out everything. I'll be a minute; I just have to finish this page. I'll tell Michael that the food's here. Maybe we could eat together or something." Mia froze, a look of apprehension and nervousness on her face. She didn't think it was possible to get paler, but apparently it was. Lilly saw this and said in a strange tone, "Or we could just eat in here…. Honestly, Mia. I don't know what's been getting into you lately. Oh wait!" Mia rolled her eyes. Lilly's psychoanalyzing parents had started to rub off on her recently, and deciphering Mia's every move was a new favorite pastime of hers. "I know what it is! You have a crush on my brother!" Mia gasped audibly. How did Lilly know this! Before she could say anything, however, Lilly thankfully misread the expression plastered on Mia's face. "Ha ha," Lilly laughed. "I knew you'd react like that! No worries, I was only kidding around! Now I'm starving. Lets go get some chow!" She stood up and Mia had no choice but to follow along. "We'll just tell my brother-" Lilly began.

"Um, you can do that," Mia began, frantically thinking of some excuse to have no contact with Michael whatsoever. "As for me, I'm going to…" There had to be some excuse! Something! Anything! "Um, unpack the food! Yes, that's it, I'll go get everything set out. You said you wanted me to do that earlier." Hah, Lilly was now caught by her own commands! Before Lilly could answer, Mia was walking down the hall in the opposite direction, headed towards the kitchen and as far away from Michael's piercing brown eyes as possible. Her efforts were in vain, however, because within a minute, Lilly entered the small apartment's kitchen, Michael in tow.

"Yes! Food," he exclaimed in a typically male fashion, though the only thing on his mind was "Yes! Mia and I are in the same room without fighting and I can look at her for at least a fraction of a second!" He didn't say this however, and thanked whoever was in charge above that he didn't choose this moment for the Freudian slip of the century. "You get my fried rice, Thermopolis?" he asked Mia just as a drill sergeant would ask a cadet if the barracks had been scrubbed.

"Sir yes sir!" Mia snapped to attention with a mock salute before she realized what she was doing: flirting with Michael. Damn. So much for avoiding him. Flirting with Michael, she realized, was such an integral part of visits to the Moscovitz household that by this time it came naturally, crush or not.

Michael smiled quizzically, wondering what on earth Mia could be up to, virtually shunning him not more than an hour ago then suddenly speaking to him once more. "I'm glad to see my word is followed. At ease." Mia visibly slumped in command, then allowed a tiny chuckle to escape her lips, which was met by a smile from Michael. A real smile. The "I really like you and therefore I shall show you my straight white teeth when I smile", sort of smile. At least, that's what Mia wanted to think.

Lilly glanced at the clock on the microwave. Only 6:30. "Hey Mia, how about we get some food really quick, because there's a party at Tina's house at 7. I forgot to tell you earlier, but I suppose we can be fashionably late."

A party. Mia didn't really like this idea, especially since news on the Michael front was looking up. But the last thing she wanted at this point was to worry Lilly even further, so she nodded and went along with the idea. "Sounds great. What time does it end?"

"Ten-ish," Lilly answered. "But you know Tina. Her parties usually run a bit over." Mia giggled, remembering other fun times had at the Hakim Baba mansion. But a bad day with Michael usually beat out a good day with Tina. Noting her indecision, Lilly said, "Well, if you really want to, we can hang out here instead and watch Indiana Jones or something."

"No! Don't be silly," Mia said, trying to cover up her true feelings, something she was getting increasingly worse at. "It'll be fun!"

"Ok," Lilly said, appeased if only for the moment. "Now I'm over due for a date with some Chinese food. Dig in!" She opened the little Chinese food boxes and steam rose up from the freshly prepared cuisine. She reached right into one carton and speared a piece of chicken with a chopstick. "Mmm…" she said. "China heaven."

Michael shook himself from his daze. He had been staring at Mia throughout this exchange, but she didn't seem to have noticed. He grabbed his box of House Fried Rice, his favorite, then remembered his words to Mia earlier. Get me some fried rice. Some fried rice. He didn't say anything about House Fried Rice, and he chuckled.

"What is it?" Lilly Demanded. Michael looked up and saw the remains of a bean sprout hanging on his sister's bottom lip. The sight caused him to choke on his rice, but he succeeded in keeping the laughter in. "What's so funny?"

By this point, Mia had noticed the bean sprout too, and was trying hard to stifle the giggles that were threatening to burst through her lips. "Nothing. Nothing at all," Michael said, trying to keep a straight face. "Nothing except that half-masticated bean sprout hanging out of your mouth." This was too much for the pair, whose laughter sprung to the surface and echoed throughout the small apartment.

Lilly brushed her lip with the back of her hand impatiently, freeing the bean sprout from her face, but also dropping it on the clean linoleum floor. She picked it up in one swift motion and carried it with an outstretched arm to the trashcan nearby. "Ok. Enough laughing. C'mon Mia, lets just eat in my room so we can get ready as we eat."

"Okay," Mia said, grabbing her box of tofu and veggies. She followed an angered Lilly out of the room, but only after sneaking a backward glance at Michael, who actually winked at her! She winked shyly back, and almost ran into the door frame, but was able to maneuver her way out of danger at the last second. Mia went into Lilly's room and tried to leave the door open in case Michael wanted to poke his head… or shirtless chest… in, but Lilly kicked it shut in a swift motion and began to immerse herself in the Moo Goo Gai Pan. "Hey Lil, what are you wearing tonight?" Mia asked.

"Nyrg ghot dhous," Lilly attempted to say through a mouthful of food. Mia thought it was a miracle that she could manage to make noise at all. Lilly swallowed. "I don't know. Maybe jeans and the black top."

"Ok, well can I borrow the purple one?"

"Um-" Lilly was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. "Who is it!" She yelled, despite the fact that Michael was the only one home.

"It's me," he called. "I brought fortune cookies!"

Mia jumped off the bed and ran for the door, then opened it to see Michael, goofy as ever, standing stark naked except for a pair of Simpsons boxers. Lilly gawked. "EWWWW!" she yelled angrily, "Get out of my room and for the love of all that is good and holy, put on some clothes!"

"Yes ma'am," he said, tossing a pair of cookies to the two girls. He shut the door and walked out with a grin. Mission accomplished, he thought. That should show Mia that he wasn't mad at her!

Lilly grabbed a cookie, then passed the other to Mia. She opened it and read: "Good things will come your way tonight." She grinned. It was going to be a very good night.

"Hurry up, we have to go!" Lilly exclaimed, looking at the clock. "Just throw on something and leave!" In five minutes flat, the two were dressed in "party attire" with light makeup, and were ready to leave. Lilly, true to her word and style, wore a pair of worn blue jeans with a black top, while Mia opted for khaki's and the purple v-neck that Lilly's mom had bought for her, but Lilly refused to wear because it wasn't feminist apparel. They skipped down the hall arms linked, and went out the door. "Michael, we'll be back at 11-ish," Lilly called over her shoulder before they exited.

Michael walked out of his room as he saw the door slam behind them. "I love you, Mia!" he called to her back. But she was out of earshot.


End file.
